FTSE STI closed 3,143.25, up 19.50 points or +0.62% with a total volume of 3.44b and a total value of S$1.08b. Total number of advance vs decline was 269 vs 147. Of the 30 component index stocks, 16 closed positive, 6 unchanged and 8 in the red. The top 5 gainer component stocks were :-
1. Jardine C&C +1.820
2. JMH 400US$ +1.380
3. JSH 500US$ +0.910
4. DBS +0.110
5. SIA +0.100
The top 5 loser component stocks were :-
1. UOB -0.050
2. SIA Engg -0.030
3. StarHub -0.020
4. ST Engg -0.010
5. SembMar -0.010
5. Kep Corp -0.010
5. GLP -0.010
5. ComfortDelGro -0.010
US markets rebounded average +1% yesterday after better than expected economic data and corporate earnings. Asian bourses taking the cue also rebounded from yesterday selling off. Nikkei +2.51%, SSE -0.17% and HSI +0.49%. STI recovered all of yesterday loss and closed +0.62% in moderate volume and slightly higher value than past days. 16 of the 30 index stocks posted gain.
US retail sales for December came out better than expected and bank earnings also meeting expectation and that helped US markets to almost recover all of the previous day loss. Asian markets taking the cue mostly rebounded. With more corporate earnings coming out this week, US markets will be volatile in the sense that it tracks those result.
STI finally managed to close positive for past 4 session of red and recovered all of yesterday loss too. While the blue chips popping up for STI to close positive, the boarder market still mixed with those micro-penny still top of lists for punters, penny stocks range bound. There is also observation that stock prices were "depressed" or "confined" to a narrow range especially for those whose earnings are due to be out either this week or next week. This could mean 2 things. One is purposely depressed to accumulate and the other is taking cautious not to play up prior to the release of the result and in the end getting disappointed with it. This is the general market sentiment for those short-term players. What an investor should do is to research on the past quarters of earning and analyze for the potential coming outcome. A disappointed result after the stock being sold down in the past weeks need not necessary mean more downside.
